Electrical wire used in the construction of residential and commercial buildings is generally provided either wound on reels or in an annular coiled configuration. Coiled wire is commonly referred to as Romex or boxed coils. Coiled wire is provided, as the name suggests, in a coiled annular configuration where one free end of the wire is paid out from the center of the coil. Because coiled wire is generally provided in shorter lengths than those found on wound reels, coiled wire is less bulky, weighs less and is generally less expensive to use than wound reels. As a result, electricians generally prefer to use coiled wire. However, despite being the preferred choice for electricians, coiled wire does have drawbacks.
One major drawback is that the coiled wire is not immediately useable when withdrawn from the coil. When an electrician pulls a length of wire from the center of the coil it creates a twisting effect when the wire is dispensed. For example, if an electrician simply reaches into the center of the coil and pulls out a length of coil, the wire will remain in its coiled configuration and not become straight. In order to use the wire, the wire must be twisted and formed into straight sections. To eliminate the twist in most situations requires two people, one to do the pulling while the other untwists the product as it comes out of the coil. Because it is undesirable to use coiled wire when it is in its spiral form when first withdrawn from the coil, the above described straightening task must be undertaken. As can be appreciated, this process is cumbersome and extremely time consuming.
The necessity to straighten coiled wire highlights another problem associated with the use of coiled wire. Electricians and other individuals frequently will use more than one gauge or size of wire together where both sizes are required to be of the same length. Consequently, a person who needed to use two different gauges of wire was previously required to pull one length of wire and straighten it out and then pull a second length of wire of a different gauge and then straighten it out before both wires could be used together in the desired task. Attempts to simultaneously pull two different gauges or colors of the same gauge wire often resulted in undesirable entanglement of the two wires.
Therefore, a need exists for a coiled wire dispenser which does not require two individuals to straighten the desired length of wire that is being dispensed.
Furthermore, there is a need for a coiled wire dispenser which permits more than one gauge of wire to be dispensed simultaneously as well as to be straightened simultaneously.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a dispenser that permits an individual to get a desired length of coiled wire that is straightened during the dispensing process.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a device which permits an electrician or individual to draw lengths of different gauges of coiled wire simultaneously and also straighten each of the simultaneously drawn wires without the assistance of another individual.
It is still another object of the present inventor to provide a device that permits the display of multiple gauges of wire.